Patient Stories

Vilma - Fractured Wrist

Alexander S. Croog, MD

Vilma slipped on a step and fell down the stairs last Spring. “I was holding something in my hand and fell on it sideways with my fist closed,” the 75-year-old woman recalled. “I knew right away that my hand was broken because it was not in the right position.”

After the emergency-room physician determined the break was bad enough to need surgery, Vilma contacted OrthoVirginia, where she met Alexander Croog, MD.

“I almost had to re-learn how to use my hand,” Vilma said. “For eight weeks, the therapist and I worked together twice a week for an hour, stretching, pulling, and twisting, until I was back to about 90 percent normal. Dr. Croog was proud of my progress.”

X-rays revealed she had a fracture to the distal part of her radius bone. It was a “very bad break and very painful” Vilma said.

After outpatient surgery to realign the bone and put in a plate for stability and to help with healing, Vilma wore a splint for four weeks. She then visited the physical therapist to regain strength and movement.

“I almost had to re-learn how to use my hand,” Vilma said. “For eight weeks, the therapist and I worked together twice a week for an hour, stretching, pulling, and twisting, until I was back to about 90 percent normal. Dr. Croog was proud of my progress.”

Vilma returned to OrthoVirginia several times to remove the stitches and take additional take x-rays to monitor her healing progress. By the following July, she passed her final exam. “I am so pleased with Dr. Croog,” she said. “He was such a nice young man, very pleasant. And everything went according to schedule.”